Perv, Pixie, Protector
by Mice
Summary: Part 2: Perv. Jubilee and Bobby meet for the first time. Part 1: Protector. Jubilee receives the closure from Bobby Drake she's long sought for.
1. Chapter 1

**Perv, Pixie, Protector**

By Mice

-  
_I said goodbye to someone that I love_  
_It's not just me, I tell you it's the both of us_  
_And it was hard_  
_Like coming off the pills that you take to stay happy_  
-

**-Hyperion Hotel, October 4th-**

"It's begun."

"Swelligent."

Dahlia sat next to Jubilee in the solarium. "Bobby wanted me to  
give you something..." She withdrew a letter from her bag and  
handed it to Jubilee. "Just in case."

Jubilee frowned as she began to open the letter up. "I hope you're  
amazing to him."

"Let me tell you, kid - I've loved him for longer than you've been  
alive." Dahlia smiled and got up to leave. "They'll be okay."

Jubilee waited until she was out of sight to finish opening the  
envelope with her name on it. There was a small drawing of a pixie  
in her likeness on the corner. "Perv."

_To My Pixie -_

_Words have never come easy when confronted with real emotions and _  
_with you, there's difficulty. You have been an essential friend _  
_and I crossed the line in that friendship. Protest all you want, _  
_what I did was inappropriate though that does not mean that you _  
_are not beautiful. I was a lucky man that night. I wish I could _  
_remember all of it._

_I know I have let you down so many times. You are much stronger _  
_than I will ever be. I feel that I was always training to be a _  
_super-hero - you became one with no hesitation. Because you have _  
_passion. Something I may have never felt in my life._

_I was born an empath but when I was seven, the pain of _  
_experiencing other's emotions became too great and I literally _  
_froze. I don't let people get close to me. Nobody knows me, just _  
_the me I project that puts everyone at ease. I have to work so _  
_hard at building up a facade of a person. If I had a choice, I _  
_would crawl inside myself and never come out._

_Your friendship was important because you never let me feel like I _  
_was a failure. I wasn't a kid. You made me feel like a man. Never _  
_forget that, Pixie, because not many people can do that._

_That night...this is hard to admit because I was greedy for that _  
_experience. I didn't think about how much it was going to hurt us _  
_in the future - I had no idea that it would ruin our friendship. I _  
_wish I could say I remember what you looked like or how you felt. _  
_I wish I could tell you that you were beautiful or that it made me _  
_happy. I can't tell you any of this because it wouldn't be true._

_What I can tell you, Jubilee, is that I regret not taking better _  
_care of your heart afterwards. Sex isn't what is important when _  
_you love someone - for years, I thought that. It's what you do _  
_when they need you after the fact. And I couldn't give that to _  
_you._

_I used to think of myself as your protector, the one who _  
_understood you mentally better than anyone else. I come out of _  
_this knowing that I still have a ways to go before truly knowing _  
_what it means to have someone trust me with their heart._

_I used to blame Annie for not loving me the way I wanted. I kept _  
_trying to put her into this box I had that said "Girlfriend". When _  
_it didn't work, I would go cold and blame her for it not working. _  
_What I'm doing now is to earn her forgiveness and to become a _  
_better man. I need to grow up and realize that women were not put _  
_on this earth to torment me._

_I am sorry for not talking to you for so long. It wasn't you, it _  
_was guilt. Every time I heard your voice, it was a reminder of how _  
_I fucked everything up. The more you pleaded, the more cold I got. _  
_It's always been my game. I can't ignore it any longer. How can I _  
_be a super-hero if I can't even be a man?_

_I do love you, Pixie. Not the way you wanted. I'm sorry. I'm _  
_trying to make it right._

_-Perv_

-  
_If you think to yourself "What should I do now?"_  
_Then take the baton, girl, you better run with it_  
_There is no point in standing in the past_  
_'cause it's over and done with_  
-

**-Hyperion Hotel, October 4th - Earlier-**

Dahlia caught her breath. "You're not Bobby."

"No," Drake'son agreed. "But I need your help." Drake'son handed  
her a letter with a small pixie drawn on the envelope.

"Is this from Bobby?" she asked nervously.

Drake'son shook his head. "But you will tell her it is."

"Why?"

"If Bobby cannot do what needs to be done, then I will."

"And what's that?"

"Set her free."

Dahlia nodded. "I'll go find her."

After Dahlia left, Drake'son let out a long breath. "I am the  
protector now."

-  
_If I could do just one near perfect thing I'd be happy_  
_They'd write it on my grave, or when they scattered my ashes_  
_On second thoughts I'd rather hang about_  
_And be there with my best friend_  
_If she wants me..._  
-

Lyrics: "If She Wants Me" by Belle & Sebastian


	2. Chapter 2

**Pixie, Perv, Protector**

**By Mice**

**Part 2: Perv**

Jubilee was thirteen (and a half) and had seen the world with Wolverine. She had learned things, like how to smile while rainbow colored sparks shot out of your hands, burning them. That's what Logan taught her, anger is a painkiller.

It also helped when in a town far, far removed from civilization and indoor plumbing.

Her family was rich and she had grown up a child of the city, Los Angeles. Accepter of the western orphans though Jubilee never thought she would become one. Her life had gone by very slowly up until the day her parents died. The amount of life changing information she received since that day pushed them further away.

Now she was in New York, the Angel of eastern orphans. She was the youngest and newest. And she was pretty sure everybody wanted to do everybody else. It borderlined on inappropriate. And this was from a thirteen year-old girl, filled with hormones and fireworks.

Since they got back from Genosha, some of the older members of the X-Men had moved in. And she had finally met Kitty Pryde. Kitty Pryde was a walking American Girl doll. Everyone loved her and wanted her. She wasn't even an orphan! And she had a dragon? Please.

PLEASE.

She walked to a boat house on the estate that was abandoned. It was crazy how much space was all Xaviers. Los Angeles was far from compact, but maintained a constant buzz. The silence here was annoying.

Cold water dripped on her head. Jubilee turned her head to the roof where icicles were melting. It had to be, "Frosty? Cold Bringer? BrrrMan? Robert Van Winkle? Blizzwizz? Chill Pill? Artic Bear? Penguin Pal?"

"Who are you talking to?" A man in an Alf apron came out.

"You! Guy who makes it cold." Jubilee traced a circle around him in the air with her finger. "That's your thing."

"Iceman. I make ice and I'm a man, How is that hard to remember?"

"Because you look nothing like Val Kilmer."

"I'll have you know that I've been told I look like a nice Val Kilmer."

"By who, your grandmother?"

"And other women!" He went back inside. "Come on in, I'm making hamburgers."

Jubilee went in. "Do you live here?"

"Nope. Just found this place. Never seen it before." He went to the stove where he flipped a few patties over.

"And you just happened to have stuff for hamburgers?"

"Well," he explained, wiping his hands on the Alf apron, "I was going over to where I thought Scott had his grill but it might have been moved after...uhm, the Cajun guy? Card Shark?"

"Gambit."

"Yeah! That guy! He tried to use it and Scott got really upset so I guess he moved it. I found this place, went to see if the appliances work and…" he shook his own hand. "It's like I'm the Annie Sullivan and my hamburgers are Helen Keller."

This made very weird sense to her. "I'm Jubilee, in case you're wondering."

He nodded. "I know who you are. Do you like ketchup?"

"On a hamburger?"

"On fries."

"I like vinegar."

"Perf."

"Why?"

"Because I have no ketchup."

"No, why do you know who I am?"

He began slicing a tomato. "Cuz you're the youngest. I always know who the youngest is."

"Perv."

"No, I just know how it feels. I was the first youngest here."

A light went off in her head. "So, you're one of the original Xavier 5?"

"Yep. We've been away for a while. X-Factoring it up. I guess we're back now. What kind of cheese?"

"All the cheeses." Jubilee stared at the food making man. "You're shorter than what I thought."

"Shorter? That would be what you noticed." He simmered mushrooms and onions on a separate burner.

"Well, there's the tall stick in the mud -"

"Scott. You'll warm up to him. He just takes all of this super seriously."

"His redhead -"

"No bad words about Jean. That's just a basic rule."

"The two blue guys?"

"Warren and Hank. Warren's the guy with the silver wings. He used to be so much fun...wore orange headbands." He sighed, taking out the hamburger buns from the oven. "Hank is the smartest guy I've ever known and is my best friend."

"And then there's you."

"And then there's me." He checked on his fries in the cast iron skillet and began to put them on a plate with a paper towel to blot the oil off. "Bobby Drake, CPA. Superhero. Amateur cook. What's your real name?"

"Jubilation Lee."

"You're messing with my head."

"The previous youngest was named Kitty Pryde, you really want to go there?"

"Can you keep a secret?"

"Maybe."

"Good enough. She kind of creeps me out."

"How so?"

"It's like...everyone either loves her or wants to...you know...love her." Bobby made a vaguely crude gesture with his lower torso. "That's weird, right?"

"Did you ever get any of that attention?"

"Hell no! And she gets a dragon? Please."

"PLEASE." Jubilee smiled. "So, are you X-Factor peeps here for good or just visiting?"

"Well...it looks like for good. Scott's brother is going to take over X-Factor now that it's all governmental and what-not."

"Eew, he has a brother?"

Bobby threw her a look. "Normally, I would rush to defend one of my oldest friends but seeing as how his brother essentially stole a girlfriend from me, eew away." Bobby handed her a plate of fries and a hamburger with all the cheeses. "Now, who is the woman with the auburn hair with a white streak?"

"That's Rogue. Gambit's all up in her business. Keep looking." Jubilee pointed to the vinegar behind Bobby and he handed it over.

"Damn it! Just my luck..."

"Betsy's all available."

"Not my type."

"Too much boobs?"

"No such thing."

"Got something against Asians?"

"I'll have you know that I am currently maybe-may not be in a relationship with a Japanese artist right now."

"Why maybe?"

"...haven't been able to talk to her in a few months due to saving the world...she might take it personally..."

"What about Storm?"

"I don't date goddesses anymore as a rule." Bobby lathered his hamburger with spicy mustard and took a bite. "Did you know she kicked Scott's ass? When she was depowered?"

Jubilee's eyes widened with new appreciation for her leader. "Bad ass."

"So, how old are you?"

"Thirteen." Jubilee puffed up her chest. "And a half."

Bobby frowned. "What do your parents think of all this?"

"My parents are dead. Yours?"

"Alive. In Long Island."

"Since you were one of the originals, I guess you didn't get to be Wolvie's sidekick…"

"Yeah, I don't think that an angry Canadian with claws would even be able to spend five minutes without wanting to shut my face. I've been told I have a mouth on me…"

"I remind you, I'm a thirteen year-old orphan who grew up rich in Los Angeles and traveled with him to rural China. I've lived to tell the tale."

"Well, then, cheers." Bobby held up his hamburger to toast her. "To the youngest X-Men."

Jubilee held up hers. "To the youngest and mouthiest X-Men."

"Who are not Kitty Pryde."

"And deserve dragons of their own."

They toasted and continued to eat.

"What would you name your dragon?"

"You don't get to name the dragon," Jubilee answered with a mouthful of food. "I checked. Because I would totally name my dragon Chipotle."

Bobby nodded thoughtfully. "That's a good name."

"You?"

"Little John."

"Little John? Are you kidding me?"

"Well, if I had a dragon, it would obviously breathe fire, right?"

"Obviously."

"So, since I am the Iceman and I'd have this awesome firebreathing dragon on my shoulder, I would obviously name it after my friend and opposite, Johnny Storm."

"Would he name his dragon Little Bob?"

Bobby wiped his mouth. "I faxed him a legally binding agreement on it. Our headquarters blew up while I was waiting for him to fax it back, but he knows."

The two ate in silence for another moment.

"…do you want to try it again? Because, the fact is, he could get a dragon tomorrow and name it whatever he wants."

Bobby stared at her and her wonderful logic filled head. "Thirteen and a half, huh?"

"Stop dwelling on it, Perv, and get me a pen. We'll get this over to him as soon as we're done with our fries."


End file.
